After enduring a nightmare start to the current campaign, suffering defeats against both Brighton and Tottenham, Jose Mourinho will have been delighted both with the result and the manner of his team’s performance in their comfortable 2-0 win at Burnley on Sunday.

Although Romelu Lukaku’s two-goal showing will have pleased the former Chelsea boss, perhaps a first clean sheet of the season will have brought him the most joy, though the Red Devils still have plenty of room for improvement defensively.

According to the latest media reports, the Premier League outfit have not given up hope of strengthening their manager’s hand by bringing in a world-class defender in January, with Atletico Madrid’s Lucas Hernandez thought to be a serious target.

The versatile 22-year-old was a World Cup winner with France during the summer, starting every game for his country at left-back, but the man said to have had a £72m release clause inserted into the new contract he signed in June is equally comfortable in central defence.

A powerful player who relishes the physical side of the game, Hernandez proved his importance to his current employers last term, helping Diego Simeone’s charges to concede 0.3 fewer goals per match on average in the top-flight when he featured:

Lucas Hernandez

CLUB Atletico de Madrid

AGE 22Y 6M

POS DEF

HEIGHT 6FT 0IN

2017/18

WITH

WITHOUT

Matches

27

11

Win %

63%

55%

Draw %

26%

27%

Loss %

11%

18%

Avg Goal for

1.4

1.8

Avg Goals against

0.5

0.8

Mins per goal for

63.9

49.5

Mins per goal against

186.9

110

Shots for per game

7.8

8.6

Points per game

2.1

1.9

Clean sheets

18

5

TOTAL

8

3

In fact, the 22-year-old actually improved his numbers across the board as he became more involved for the Spanish giants during the 2017/18 La Liga campaign, forcing opponents to take 40 more minutes to find the net than had been the case when he played in 2016/17:

LucasHernandez

V

LucasHernandez

Atletico de Madrid

Atletico de Madrid

DEF 22Y 6M 6FT 0IN

DEF 22Y 6M 6FT 0IN

Aug 2016 - May 2018

HERNANDEZ

HERNANDEZ

Starts

13

24

Minutes played

1253

2143

Goals scored

0

Goals with feet

0

Goals with head

0

Assists

0

Clean sheets

9

18

Goals against

10

13

Minutes per goal against

125

165

TOTAL

1

4

Although he has operated primarily as a full-back for both club and country up to this point in his career, it is highly likely that Mourinho would move Hernandez into what appears to be his more natural role in central defence were he to secure a January switch to Old Trafford.

The Acca Smacker

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